Music Not Politics? Sorry, Fuck That.

If you know me, you are likely aware of my strong opposition to the erosion of liberty and democracy in American and across many other countries. In fact, my current involvement in promoting music and co-owning venues in SL grew out of the opportunity to work with Blue to stage music events to protest against fascism and tyranny.

In a post yesterday that I put on Primfeed, I talked about the execution of an innocent, peaceful protester in Minneapolis. When I wrote that we hadn’t heard anything about her identity.

RENEE GOOD WAS EXECUTED BY ICE IN MINNEAPOLIS

Her name is Renee Good. A 37-year-old wife, mother of three, and poet who lived in the neighborhood in which she was murdered. She was a U.S. citizen who was standing up to a bunch of monsters who are intent on illegally abusing immigrants to our country.

Her three children are 6, 12, and 15. She is married to a woman, and I don’t believe we know her identity yet. Her second husband, a veteran died, leaving her a widow. She’s divorced from her first husband who described her as, a devoted Christian who loved to sing and was in high school chorus and continued studying music while in college. She graduated from Old Dominion University in Virginia where she studied creative writing.

In summary, she was very much like most of us in America. A good person, raising a family, and caring for their neighbors, regardless of where those neighbors came from originally. She was standing up for what was right and honorable, by exercising her first amendment right to protest, just like untold millions of Americans have for almost 250 years now.

She wasn’t executed for trying to run over those masked thugs trying to intimidate her, she was executed for exercising her constitutional rights. The goal of the Trump administration is to use their henchmen to intimidate and scare us. Their greatest fear is that ordinary Americans will stand up to them, and they are intentionally trying to show us they are willing to kill us when we do so.

When one of us is knocked down, as Renee Good was yesterday, it is the duty of the rest of us to stand up even more resolutely to oppose tyranny and injustice, and to ensure that their death was not in vain. It is reasonable to be afraid, we have good reason. But, do not give in, do not hide, do not let them win.

“The strength and power of despotism consists wholly in the fear of resistance.”

 Thomas Paine

"When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."

John Basil Barnhill

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO WITH SL?

What does this all have to do with a blog about SL music? Is this just me shooting off my mouth (as usual) inappropriately? There is a method to my madness in this isolated case.

I believe that throughout history, music has had a critical role in creating positive change and standing up to injustice ... especially state-sponsored injustice. Whether it was scoring the music that helped fuel the anti-war protests against Vietnam, or creating the soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement, raising untold billions in money for various causes such as Live Aid, or creating music that promoted feminist ideals and normalizing LGBTQ+ people, music has made a massive contribution.

I know that “Music Not Politics” has been practically a mantra in the Second Life music community for years. I understood why and did my best to take that to heart. That was then, this is now. The world has changed radically. The stakes have gone up immeasurably. The current rise of fascism in the U.S. for instance is an existential threat to the nation and, indeed, the world.

FINE, BUT WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT?

So, where does that leave us in the SL music community? I don’t have all the answers, but I have some thoughts about what we can do.

First, artists, be willing to speak out and use your platform to make a positive difference. There is a rich library of protest songs and other relevant music to draw from, don’t be dissuaded from incorporating this into your library. Also, don’t listen to anyone who tells you that we don’t want to hear what you have to say, so just shut up and sing. You have a right to voice what you think and feel. Between songs, you absolutely have a right to share your thoughts and feelings.

Second, there are venues that will tell you not to play things that are “political” and to not make any political kinds of comments on stage (I’m looking at you Merry Pranksters as one example that I expected better from). In a perfect world, artists in SL would tell such venues that they will no longer perform there.

Third, fans … really all of us involved in the SL music community … I’m not saying that we need to turn every performance into a free for all about politics in local chat. But, when someone says something hateful, racist, fascist, etc., don’t sit by with your mouth shut, speak out. If you get chastised for doing it, don’t back down, keep fighting. Might you get ejected, even banned, from a venue? Yup. It’s happened to me. Believe me, it’s no big deal. You get over it.

Fourth, support musicians and venues that stand up to the radical right and fascists. Show up for the shows. Throw L$s in their tip jars. Venue owners especially, when you hear about an artist who has lost a gig because they had to stand up to a venue that was on the wrong side of things like this, do your best to reach out and offer them a spot at your venue that replaces what they lost.

As I said, I don’t have all the answers. I don’t have to. I have a ton of friends in SL, we’re part of a community, and they are good people. The good people that make up the bulk of the SL music community, if we work together, if we stand together, we can make a positive contribution to to opposing hate. Great musicians and their fans have been doing this for a long time.

Instead of quoting some classic protest song by one of the many amazing folk artists from before my time, I’ll leave you with these lyrics instead.

I got a question...

How'd he make it this far?

How the fuck did it begin?

A Trump rally sounds like

Hitler in Berlin Or KKK shit,

now I'm goin' in

I'm just sayin' what's real,

I don't give a fuck who I offend

Cause it's gotta be said,

it's gotta be said

It's off the top like the

toupee on Donald Trump's head

This man's not peaceful, racism's evil

This man hates Muslims,

that's a billion fuckin' people

If truth be told, Donald is a terrorist

Reasons why the world's got

a problem with Americans

The fuck is goin' on? People just passed

A mass murder happened,

you said thanks for the congrats

I got an eagle on my arm, I'm a patriot

I'ma stay right here,

I ain't livin' in fear

With my people who are

Muslims, Mexican and queer

And we ain't gonna let you

fuck up four years

Ain't gonna let you fuck up for years

Fuck Donald Trump

Fuck Donald Trump

From “Fuck Donald Trump Pt. 2” – YG and G Eazy and Macklemore